science

Novel coronavirus

Novel coronavirus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Novel coronavirus rather than just read about it. In short: Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by human coronaviruses in ~15% of cases), cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute…

Key takeaways

Novel coronavirus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Novel coronavirus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Novel coronavirus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by human coronaviruses in ~15% of cases), cross-species transmission has produced some unusually virulent strains which can cause viral pneumonia and in serious cases even acute respiratory distress syndrome and death.

Species The following viruses could initially be referred to as "novel coronavirus", before being formally named:

All four viruses are part of the Betacoronavirus genus within the coronavirus family.

Etymology The word "novel" indicates a "new pathogen of a previously known type" (i.e. known family) of virus. Use of the word conforms to best practices for naming new infectious diseases published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015. Historically, diseases have sometimes been named after locations, individuals, or specific species. However, this practice is now explicitly discouraged by the WHO. The official permanent names for viruses and for diseases are determined by the ICTV and the WHO's ICD, respectively. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei a 2020 study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found a more than ten-fold increase in use of expressions such as "Chinese virus" or "Wu flu virus" on Twitter compared to before the outbreak. The researchers voiced concerns whether such terminology could hinder public health efforts or be stigmatizing. No such effects were observed in the wake of the MERS outbreaks being referred to as "Camel flu virus" or "Middle East virus".

See also Coronavirus Coronavirus diseases Coronavirus 229E Coronavirus OC43 Coronavirus NL63 Bat SARS-like coronavirus WIV1 Bat-borne viruses

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Novel coronavirus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Novel coronavirus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Novel coronavirus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Novel coronavirus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Novel coronavirus

In research: Novel coronavirus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Novel coronavirus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Novel coronavirus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coronaviridae, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Novel coronavirus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Novel coronavirus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Novel coronavirus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Novel coronavirus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Novel coronavirus in simple terms?

Why does Novel coronavirus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Novel coronavirus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Novel coronavirus.